Empty Nesters and Spare Bedrooms

Tips for empty nesters moving out

Do you have grown children who have “left the nest” and repurposed those rooms into an office or a gym? After a few years, you realize your home is too big for you and you want to downsize to a smaller home and possibly even to another state. So you decide it is time to sell and start to purge all the things you probably won’t be taking with you.

But hold on, what about the house itself and getting it ready for its picture perfect debut on the market?

Well if the home is located in an area where families are prevalent, your home needs to reflect that image even though your own children are no longer in the house. If your home has 3 or 4 bedrooms, make sure the bedrooms have an actual bed in it. 90% of buyers cannot envision a room differently than what you use it for. Buyers will be looking for those bedrooms to look like bedrooms so they can see if a bed fits. When you use it as an office and have a desk, filing cabinets and bookcases, buyers can’t tell if a twin bed would even fit in the space.

Again you are trying to appeal to a family looking for a home with many bedrooms. You will probably have to give up using that space as an office for a short time until you move.

I had one client who was saving a crib and mattress for future grandbabies in the basement storage closet. I told her it would look great in one of the bedrooms that was currently an office. Add some cute nursery wall art and a chair and you have an instant nursery room! Now when buyers walk in, they can visualize themselves raising a baby in their new home.

For those empty nesters looking to sell your home, consider what buyers will be looking for in a home. Make it appeal to a family just as it did for you when you had kids.